How to Build a High Performing Team with Sean Murray and Doug Beal

Aug 5, 2022 | Hot Mess Hotline Podcast, Leadership Development, Team Training

High-performing teams are built when individuals go through challenges together. Sean Murray and Doug Beal bring us the real-life story of a gold metal Olympic team from the 80s who could barely work together in the beginning. In today’s episode you’ll learn that you actually don’t need the smartest, most talented, highly skilled players for your business team to be high performing.

During much of the 2010s (and still today), there was a fixation on hiring “the best talent.” We think if we just hire the Lebron James of business intelligence, or the Peyton Manning of sales leadership, then we’ll have a high performing team. Yes a team can be better because of one superstar, but that superstar alone doesn’t create a high-performing team.

For my fellow Hoosiers, you’ll remember the Colts won 2 games in the season Peyton had to sit out. They had no back up plan or strength on the team without him and the ENTIRE team failed because of it.

The same is true for your team at work. Listen in to this episode with leadership coach Sean Murray and volleyball coach and executive Doug Beal for timeless lessons on creating innovative, successful teams — in sports, business, and life:

  • To move from a group of rock stars to a cohesive team, you need a shared challenging experience
  • You can’t ignore the lack of success indicators and expect to win
  • Shifts in strategy require new leaders to step up in new ways
  • When you’re too close to a problem, you can’t see it objectively
  • Team culture is differentiator from your competitors
  • Team goals require individual players to put their own goals second to team goals
  • You have to be willing to risk failure if you want to win
  • Getting uncomfortable creates dramatic shifts in cultures and new leaders
  • As a leader you must have a range of opinions around you
  • Bonds of trust are created through serving each other
  • Copying others will only get you so far, but it won’t make you successful
  • Be willing to look foolish
  • Sometimes you have to fire the best player
Listen on Libysn
Listen on Libysn
Listen on Libysn
Listen on Libysn

Lead Kick Ass Meetings

Download this toolkit and you'll get resources to:

  • Easily manage task items from every meeting
  • Design agendas quickly and allow folks the right info to prepare
  • Hold your next effective staff meeting with focused content
  • Run a quick daily meeting so your team gets more shit done
  • Have your staff turn in meaningful updates so meetings are shorter
  • Start meetings in an engaging way. Get everyone to laugh, not roll their eyes.

About Sean Murray

Sean Murray, the founder and CEO of RealTime Performance. Sean has over twenty years of experience in leadership and organization development. Sean helps organizations unleash the human factors that drive business success.  He has facilitated programs in leadership, inclusion, decision making, team building and innovation for clients including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, and Nordstrom.  Sean is also the author of “If Gold Is Our Destiny: How a Team of Mavericks Came Together for Olympic Glory”, about the 1984 U.S. men’s national volleyball team and their improbable journey to a gold medal.

About Doug Beal

Doug Beal is the former Executive Director of USA Volleyball, serving in that role from 2005 – 2016. Prior to that, Doug served various roles for USA Volleyball, including two stints as the head coach for the men’s national team. First, from 1976 – 1984, he coached the team to its first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and again from 1997 to 2004.

Read more about the book here and purchase your copy now on Amazon.

Related Posts

Old Habits Can’t Create New Results with Tedra White

Old Habits Can’t Create New Results with Tedra White

Change feels hard when we try to use old habits to drive new results. No one knows that better than our very own faculty member, Tedra White. On this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline, we talk through big career transitions; how bad employees create amazing results and how to turn them into great employees that create amazing results; what gets us stuck during transformation; and the power of coaching through all of this.

Tedra shares her coaching perspective, why you might want to work with her, and what to expect. After listening I hope you’ll find her as awesome as I do and see why she’s a natural fit here at Stefanie Krievins & Co.

read more
The Critical Difference Between Managing Complexity and Micromanaging with Bill Murphy

The Critical Difference Between Managing Complexity and Micromanaging with Bill Murphy

There is a critical difference between managing complexity and micromanaging that all leaders need to know about. Our Hot Mess Hotline guest, Bill Murphy, breaks down how to know when you’ve reached a ceiling of complexity that requires you to step back into the details of the work. This is different from micromanaging, however. And if you’re seeing the same mistakes over and over, yet your team is supposed to have a process in place, you need to lead in a new way. Hear about Bill’s inflection point as a CEO while in a hospital bed and how he became fearless.

read more
What’s the Difference Between Orientation and Onboarding?

What’s the Difference Between Orientation and Onboarding?

What’s the Difference Between Orientation and Onboarding? And why does it matter? With turnover and retention being very painful and expensive problems (especially right now!), leaders need every tool at their disposal to help the right people stay. Onboarding is an incredibly powerful tool and we have the stats to back it up!!

Plus it’s not really about the expense, it’s about welcoming people into your culture, showing them a good time, giving them the tools and information to be successful, connecting them to their colleagues, and demonstrating that you want them to be successful in their role.

read more